Cape May Here We Come! (finally)

June 4, 2015

We are up early and ready for our day of travel to Cape May.  We have collected all our mail and the weather finally looks promising.  We stop at a slip at the Chesapeake Inn and Marina to fill our water tanks as we had previously arranged with the dock master, Andy.  We are excited to get underway after a week on anchor in the basin.  As soon as we start out, we see a pilot boat headed down the canal.  We know we will soon encounter a barge or freighter and sure enough, here it is!

Freighter Approaching

Here's the freighter as it approaches us.  The pilot boat pulls up along side it and then the pilot climbs the ladder on the side of the ship to board it.

Pilot Boat Pulls Along Side

Very interesting to watch.

Pilot Climbs Aboard Freighter

We continue down the canal.  There is very little traffic and the canal is smooth and the wind has not come up yet.  Very lucky for us.  Our plan is to exit the canal and head towards Cape May.  However, if the weather looks like it is going to turn bad on us, we will throw an anchor behind the small island on the Delaware River.   The river has a little chop and the wind is picking up, but we decide to continue to Cape May.  After lunch, the seas seem to be building and as soon as the river turns into Delaware Bay, the wind picks up and the waves range between 2-4 ft.  Not my favorite traveling conditions, but surprisingly, I am doing okay.  At about 3:00 pm, we are about eight and a half miles from the opening to the Cape May Canal and I smell a strange odor.  Dave investigates, but we don't discover anything.  The gauges all seem fine.  The smell becomes a little stronger and Dave opens the hatch in the galley.  We detect a burning smell and then a strange noise, so Dave shuts down everything and calls Tow Boat US.  We are in 2-4 ft waves coming from every direction and the wind has really picked up, so Dave has to put out the anchor. We are in about 20 ft. of water.  It takes Tow Boat US a little over an hour to arrive, so we just make sure everything is secure and wait.  When the boat does get to us, the captain of the tow boat is reluctant to throw us a line to pull us forward so Dave can pull up the anchor.  An hour later, Dave has not been able to get the anchor in.  We are clearly stuck on something.  The towboat captain is just "waiting".  The weight of the anchor, chain and conditions cause the safety guard on the anchor to "rip" off and the anchor pulpit to bend.  Dave decides to cut the chain.  However, the captain of the towboat finally throws us a bridle.  Dave hooks it up and tries again to raise the anchor, but to no avail.  So Dave begins to cut through the chain.  Before he gets through the link and we lose our chain as well as our anchor, the towboat captain pulls us forward enough to free us.  Dave secures the anchor and our tow begins.  It is now after 5:00 pm.  It is rainy, windy, and cold.  We are towed to Utsch's Marina in Cape May, NJ.

Headed to Utsch's With a Little Help From "Our Friend"

We are very lucky to get a slip as the poor weather conditions for the past week have caused most people headed north to just stay in their slips at Utsch's.  Dave does an amazing job of docking (we are not under power).  By 7:15 pm, we are safely in a slip.  When the towboat leaves (not our best experience with Tow Boat US), we assess the damage. The anchor pulpit needs to be replaced or straightened.  The chain has to be assessed.  We discover the freezer has shorted out due to the rough water while we were waiting to be towed.  And most importantly, Dave can see that the problem that caused us to break down is a problem with the drip less system on the stuffing box.  There is water coming in, but the bilge pump is keeping up with it and there is nothing we can do until the morning.  Dave goes to bed, but I sleep in the recliner.  I want to make sure that the bilge pump doesn't give out during the night.

June 5 - June 9, 2015

We are up early in order to make a repair plan.  In the daylight, we discover that there are about 10 other boats  flying the AGLCA burgee.  They are all waiting for the weather to improve.  After breakfast, Dave arranges for someone to come look at the boat.  The mechanic at Utsch's agrees with Dave as to the cause of the problem, but says he cannot repair it for us.  Dave is given the names of some possible mechanics and begins to make calls.  He makes arrangements with Mid-Coast Marine who will send someone to take a look later in the morning.  Dave has also found a Sears store nearby where we will be able to buy the same chest freezer.  I arrange for a rental at Enterprise.  They send a driver to pick me up as well as other boaters who are renting a vehicle today.  I rent an Explorer so that we will be able to transport the freezer.  When I get back to the boat, the mechanic is assessing the situation.  He tightens things so that the bilge pump does not have to pump out every minute any more.  However, he must order parts.  He thinks we will not be repaired until Tuesday and we will have to be hauled.  When the mechanic leaves, we head to Sears.  They have one freezer left.  We buy it and load it into the SUV.  Sears agrees to let us bring back our old freezer and leave it in the back.  Another problem solved regarding how to get rid of the old one.  We return to the boat, unload the old freezer, cool down the new one and reload.  Luckily, we do not lose any food.  Everything is still frozen solid.  We drop the old freezer at Sears, have lunch at a little sandwich shop, stop at the bank for some cash. We stop at Canyon Club Marina and Dave orders a new anchor pulpit and some chain.  The order should be in on Tuesday. We then return the car to Enterprise.

Around 4:00 pm, Martha, from "Field Trip", comes by to invite us for "docktails".  There are several "Loopers" in the Marina and she has arranged for all of us to get together.  It is a great evening and proves to be an excellent opportunity to meet fellow loopers and to share stories and acquire information.  Boat cards are exchanged and acquaintances made.  Everyone is at a different stage in their looping experience.  Donadee and Wayne on "Always Home" are on their first major cruise.  A few years ago they decided to sell everything and do the Great Loop.  They bought a 47 ft. Defever. They had never boated before.  I am duly impressed. Hamp and Denise on "Gracie" have been here 3 weeks waiting out the weather.  Others have been in the marina for over a week.  There is a lot of discussion about traveling inside (ICW) or outside (Atlantic Ocean) and a few boats think they might leave on Sunday and try the inside.

On Sunday 3 or 4 boats leave and others arrive.  Most people are waiting out the weather because they prefer to travel along the coast.  Dave takes the opportunity to wash and polish the port side of "At Last".  Sunday night Dave gets a call from Mark at Mid-Coast Marine who tells him he will be by on Monday to take some measurements.  When he arrives, Mark does some preliminary work and orders the parts.  We will definitely need to be hauled out.  It looks like we won't be repaired until Thursday.  After Mark leaves, I do laundry and Dave decides to see if we can repair the anchor pulpit ourselves.  He has the crew at Utsch's try to straighten the bent pulpit and we take the chain out of the anchor locker and re-mark it.  I do what I can to help, but am well outside my "skill level".  Recently, Dave heard that the definition of "living life" is living slightly beyond your comfort zone.  So he says that if that is the definition of life then Gail (me) is really living life. (My comfort zone has definitely been stretched.)

Dave is in the anchor locker and I am on the bow trying to help him tighten the bolts, etc.  Although it is not perfect, we think we have repaired the anchor pulpit well enough and we decide we don't need additional chain.  We only lost about 30 feet and we have well over 120 ft left so we cancel our order at Canyon Club.  Monday night we have drinks with Tim and Rhonda from the "Rhonda B".  It is a pleasant evening.

On Tuesday, we walk to Fisherman's Wharf and have lunch with Hamp and Denise at the Raw Bar.  Most people are planning to leave tomorrow.  The forecast is very good and everyone wants to take advantage of this weather window.  We all get together for a "farewell" docktail.

Home Sweet Home for the Past Week